In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and lard. Add the garlic sauce (or hot sauce), cayenne pepper, brown sugar, and garlic powder, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep warm for serving.

Chicken

In a large covered container, add the chicken pieces and cover with the buttermilk. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce. Stir to combine the ingredients and cover. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Two hours before cooking, remove the chicken from the brine and place on a wire rack to drain and come to room temperature.

In a large pot over medium-high heat (or in a deep fat fryer), pour enough oil to come halfway up the side of the pot. With a cooking thermometer in place, heat the oil to 375ºF.

In a shallow pan, add the flour

In another shallow pan, add the milk and whisk in the eggs to combine.

Add several of the brined chicken pieces to the flour mixture and coat. Move the chicken pieces to the egg batter and coat, and then immediately return to the flour for a second coating. Repeat with all the chicken and move to a wire rack and let rest for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, add the breaded chicken pieces to the hot oil being careful not to crowd the pan. As the temperature of the oil drops, adjust the heat to maintain a consistent 375ºF level.

Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF, and is golden brown and crispy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and let drain on a wire rack. Keep warm until all the chicken is fried.

For serving, arrange 4 platters with 2 pieces of white sandwich bread each. Drench the fried chicken pieces into the hot sauce and quickly place on top of the white bread. Garnish with pickles and diced green onion tops. Drizzle any remaining sauce over the chicken. Serve with ice-cold beer and plenty of napkins.

Notes

Times do not include marinade time. For even frying, cut the larger chicken breasts in half to about the same size as the other pieces. I like peanut oil for frying chicken, but canola, vegetable or even lard will work. This sauce is supposed to be tongue-numbing hot, but feel free to adjust the spice level to your preference. Cajun Power products are sold most everywhere in Louisiana, but you can buy it online at Cajungrocer.com. Serving this chicken garnished with pickles is Nashville tradition, and ice-cold pickles (preferably sweet, not sour) helps to balance out the spice. I love my homemade pickled watermelon rind with this, but your favorite bread and butter pickle will work as well. Equally important, the bread (it must be white sandwich loaf) helps tame the heat and soak up all the juices.